Akiel Chambers was born on January 4th, 1987. He was a student at Blackman’s Private School in Maraval, Port of Spain. On May 23rd, 1998, he went to celebrate the eleventh birthday of his classmate Carrie James at her family home on Balata Trace in Haleland Park, Maraval, an affluent suburb of Port of Spain.
The party was attended by approximately twenty five to thirty children, mostly schoolmates. Accounts describe it as a typical children’s gathering with swimming in the family’s pool. Akiel reportedly could not swim, so spent some of the party inside playing video games with a few other boys.
Akiel was reported missing later that evening or night. Police were called around midnight and began searching the property.
The following day, May 24th, 1998, Akiel’s body was discovered submerged at the bottom of the swimming pool in a crouched position. He was wearing only a pair of adult-sized men’s swim trunks (not his own clothing). The body reportedly “floated up” during a later period when Carrie James and others were in the pool.
A post-mortem examination determined that Akiel had been smothered or strangled, not drowned. Evidence also indicated he had been sexually assaulted, with swabs taken from his body that collected human sperm. His body was placed in the pool after death, likely to stage an accidental drowning.
In February 2004, Coroner Sherman McNicolls officially ruled at the inquest that Akiel’s death was not accidental drowning but homicide by strangulation, with the body subsequently disposed of in the pool.
The initial police response drew heavy criticism. The pool was reportedly searched multiple times on the night Akiel went missing, yet his body was only found the next day, over twelve hours later. This raised questions about the thoroughness of the search and possible delays or mishandling.
Key pieces of evidence, including the sperm swabs for DNA testing, were never analyzed or matched to any suspects, according to later reports. No one was ever charged with the murder.
The case has been described as closed by the Homicide Bureau at various points, despite persistent public calls for justice. Over the years, periodic reopenings or audits were discussed. In 2012, for example, a government minister called for the case to be reopened.
And in 2018, the Police Complaints Authority probed the conduct of officers involved in the original investigation. Calls for fresh audits continued into the 2020s.
Allegations of links to a pedophile ring surfaced repeatedly, including claims in 2022 that a high-profile individual (connected to past inquiries) might have knowledge or involvement. These remain unproven and unaddressed in court.
No arrests have been made, and the killer (or killers) of Akiel Chambers has never been brought to justice.
Crime Immemorial 